Val d'Orcia, Tuscany
Property 5151
16-17 Guests
8 Bedrooms
8.5 Bathrooms
600 square meters indoor
2 Hectares outdoor
Podere della Pace is a place of exceptional peace and absolute beauty, so much so we always feel a little heartbreak when leaving it. This home is the personal home and a celebrated labor of love by an accomplished couple with superb taste, published in design magazines across Europe under headlines such as 'Tuscan Dream'. The impression it makes is very deep; guests return year after year to contemplate afresh the exceptional views, to enjoy dining al fresco under candlelight on feasts prepared 'a la brace', to swim, to dream, to restore the soul.
The Val d'Orcia is probably more familiar in pictures than in name as this is the setting for The English Patient and advertisements for Rover automobiles. The landscape is suggestive and soothing, undulating hills overlaid with open fields. Picture book after picture book try to capture the magic of a twin line of cypresses following hairpin turns up a narrow road. Or the rugged veined face of the Crete Senesi before they are ploughed and furrowed into fields of wheat and sunflower. Or a ruined farmhouse the color of earth, a cypress stamped alongside. This land is a broad tapestry of light, texture and worn color tucked into the dramatic open countryside south of San Quirico d'Orcia, Pienza and Montepulciano. The house is beautifully situated just off a paved road and yet is nearly invisible until you are upon it. Podere della Pace is an engaging 20 - 25 minute drive from San Quirico, Montepulciano or Monticchiello, close enough for easy half-day outings by those who want to explore. The winding roads lead you from one charming town to the other and the Cassia, the ancient road from Rome to Florence, is still traveled today. Horseback riding, sophisticated spas and tennis courts are all close at hand for amusement and relaxation. There is plenty to do if you want, nothing you have to do if you prefer.
The home dates to the 16th century and required some seven years to totally restore, a process completed within the last several years. You arrive passing by the handsome 13th century Torre Tarugi, between open fields to the broad lawn, young vineyard and palm trees of Podere della Pace. The driveway ends at the entrance patio, an olive tree in the corner and raised beds of fresh herbs -- basil, sage, rosemary and oregano -- set adjacent to the kitchen door. Broad opening to a long and wide south terrace that runs the length of the house. Here you can first enjoy the exceptional view, seven layers of hillside overlapping at higher and higher elevations until the summit of Monte Amiata. At the beginning of sundown, the perspective deepens as shadow fills the foreground and the hills turn changing shades of pink and purple. This is where you want to be for dusk, watching the lights of Radicofani, Pienza and Montalcino illuminate the early evening. You can enjoy this view at any hour of day from the hot tub (accommodates up to 12), the comfortable outdoor living room -- covered in straw and set with comfortable furniture, a small fridge and a CD/Tape player -- or from one of the sun beds which surround the heated pool (14 x 6 meters with Jetstream). A changing room, robes provided, is below. Another option is the covered outdoor dining room -- handsome square tables accommodate 16 -- which opens through an archway to the vegetable garden. There is both a 'forno a legna' and an open grill for cooking. Beyond the vegetable garden and flower garden, a green lawn (automatically watered by in-ground sprinklers) surrounds the house and reaches to the edge of the adjacent fields. An alcove conceals a Ping-Pong table which can easily be accommodated on the terrace among the potted lemon trees, cacti, roses and hydrangea. Into the beginning of October, sweet figs hang from a spreading tree.
You can enter the house from the terrace by means of several sets of double doors. A confident, contemporary design sense is immediately evident and is complemented by a combination of traditional elements with stylish interpretations, like bleaching the high, sloping beamed ceilings. The walls throughout are buffed with sand and butter-color paint edged with a border, or cut with a bold red stripe. The cotta-tile floors have the appealing unevenness of handmade tiles. There are rich fabrics and many handsome antiques. Each room is a complete composition with every detail precisely and carefully thought out -- crisp linen pillows piled just so, a lamp placed for reading and writing, an etching or mirror extending the perspective of a wall. No two rooms are alike, none are less than luxurious and comfortable in their unique way. A long rectangular house, the spaces are generous but appropriately furnished and the layout very sympathetic to families and friends traveling together.
Price information available upon request.
Homebase Abroad, Ltd.
Two Hooper Street
Marblehead, MA 01945
Phone: (781) 639-4040
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© February 2012 by Homebase Abroad, Ltd. All rights reserved.